CHLOE
The tension in the air was so thick, it felt suffocating. Adrian stood before Sariah, his towering frame vibrating with barely restrained fury. The witch, for her part, appeared utterly unfazed, her sharp grin a deliberate mockery of his authority. She thrived on the power imbalance, the knowledge that we had no choice but to depend on her.
I swallowed hard, trying to steel myself against the unease curling in my stomach. It was more than just the animosity between them—there was something wrong about this entire situation. The rot in the land, the fraying wards, the dead animals—it was all connected. But what unsettled me most was the look in Sariah’s eyes. She knew more than she was letting on, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was enjoying watching us squirm.
Adrian’s v
